Seattle’s win ends “the streak”
SEATTLE – The question about “the streak” came flying at manager Mike Hargrove during his afternoon meeting with reporters Monday, and he shot it down like a Texas pheasant.
“I’m done talking about streaks,” Hargrove said, having heard one time too many about the Seattle Mariners’ record 20 straight losses to American League West Division teams. “We have a ballgame tonight and we’ve been playing good baseball. We’ll just take it at that. I’m all over and done talking about that stuff.”
Wisely, nobody bothered to ask how the Mariners might possibly beat the Los Angeles Angels, the hottest team in the A.L. West and winners of – shhhhhh – seven straight over the M’s.
Four hours later, that answer was clear.
Felix Hernandez pitched a game that matched all the hype that’s been heaped on his 20-year-old shoulders, holding the Angels to five hits in a 2-0 Mariners victory at Safeco Field.
Hernandez, prone to over-throwing, poor command and high pitch counts when at his worst in an up-and-down season, was never better because he didn’t try to strike out the Angels. Instead, he dared them to make contact. Of his 95 pitches, 70 were strikes.
The result: Hernandez’s second complete game this season and the first shutout of his 1 1/2-season career. He finished with four strikeouts, none until he fanned Vladimir Guerrero in the sixth inning with a fastball that stung the Safeco Field radar at 100 mph.
“I could care less if he gets another strikeout the rest of his life,” Hargrove said. “He was absolutely dominating. He pitched to contact. That’s a real hard concept to get across to young pitchers, to old pitchers, too. The natural tendency is to pitch away from contact.”
Hernandez, 11-12, got 15 outs on ground balls and didn’t walk a batter.
The last time Hernandez didn’t allow a walk was a 6-2 victory over the Angels on June 11 at Anaheim. That, by the way, was the Mariners’ last victory over an A.L. West team until Monday.
Monday’s outing came five days after Hernandez pitched his worst game of the season, lasting 3 2/3 innings in a 9-2 loss to the Yankees.
Angels starter Kelvim Escobar was almost as effective, also pitching a complete game with nine strikeouts and no walks. The difference was the seven hits the Mariners got off him, four of them in the fourth inning when they scored both runs.
Adrian Beltre and Raul Ibanez hit back-to-back singles with one out, Richie Sexson lined a double to left that scored Beltre and, one out later, Kenji Johjima chopped an infield single that scored Ibanez.
That left Hernandez to protect the lead, and he did with no problem. He allowed only one baserunner the rest of the game and mastered the dangerous Guerrero. He struck out Guerrero with that 100 mph fastball in the sixth, then faced him again with two outs in the ninth.
Whether it was Guerrero or the joy Hernandez felt near the end of his greatest game, the Mariners’ youngster did something before the final at-bat that was out of character. He started smiling.
Normally stoic, Hernandez flashed a big grin, composed himself, then started grinning again before getting back to his business look and finishing the game with a fly to center.
“The smile wasn’t about anything,” Hernandez said. “I just really wanted to finish the game.”
In the process, he ended a losing streak against division teams that had brought his manager to the don’t-ask, I-won’t-answer point. Somebody did, though.
“Before the game I wouldn’t talk about the streak and I’m not going to talk about it now,” Hargrove said. “I do not one to hear one more question about it.”